Cooking for Nine
by Sarill
Summary: Sanji reflects on how cooking for the Straw Hat pirates is so much different than what he had expected. One shot.


Cooking For Nine

Sanji sighed as he put the finishing touches on a vat of stew. At the Baratie, this would easily feed twenty customers, but here on the Thousand Sunny it would feed nine. Sometimes, back on the Baratie, Sanji thought about life as a cook for a pirate ship, but he never imagined that it would be like this.

Their captain ate enough for three or four people, and would always eat more if he could get his hands on it. He tried to steal the other's food, and Sanji would always have to stop him from eating everything before the rest of the crew arrived. In addition, he raided the fridge if it was left unlocked, and tried to get in if it was. Then, when he was going exploring, he demanded a pirate bento even if he had just eaten.

Usopp and Chopper also ate a lot under the influence of Luffy, although they only ate enough for two a person. They were his partners in crime for fridge raiding, and would come into the kitchen while he was cooking and mess around until he kicked them out.

Robin-chan and Nami-chan ate normally, as did Brooke. Franky wanted cola with everything, and Sanji had to get a second fridge just for his individual bottles

And that idiot swordsman always drank too much sake and fell asleep in the kitchen. Nothing would wake him but a kick, and Sanji was all too happy to oblige. All and all, this was not what he expected to be facing when he finally decided to go and become a cook for the straw hat pirates.

As if to prove his point, a rubbery head attached to an extremely long neck stretched through the door.

"Sanji, make me meat!" Luffy demanded, "I want MEAT!"

"Wait for dinner, it's almost done," Sanji replied with a wave at the pot of stew simmering on the burner.

"Fine," he said with a pout. His body caught up with his head and he sat down with a thump in the doorway, looking mournfully into the kitchen.

"Go play with Usopp or something. I'll call you when dinner's ready."

"But I'm _hungry_," he complained.

"Go!" Sanji ordered forcefully. As Luffy walked out he continued, "And you too, marimo" he said, aiming a kick at the swordsman sleeping in the corner of the kitchen. A hand lazily blocked the kick, and fell back to the floor.

"Leave me alone," Zoro said sleepily, "I'm not in your way, swirly eyebrow."

"Why you-" Sanji's protest was cut off by the ding of the timer.

"DINNER!" The cook hollered to the crew, dishing a bowl and setting it aside for himself later.

"Woo hoo! Meat, Meat, Meat!" Luffy swung around the door that he had been standing next to, flinging himself into his seat. Sanji felt the ship vibrate with the pounding of boots as his nakama raced into the kitchen to get food before it all went down their captain's gullet. He put the pot of soup down on the table, blocking Luffy until everyone had taken a first helping. Only then did he let his energetic captain take food.

"Sanji, where's the meat?" asked Luffy in a mournful voice.

"Right in front of you, idiot."

Luffy looked around franticly for the pile of meat he was missing.

"It's in your stew," Sanji finally said with a sigh before waltzing over to the females of the crew.

"Oh, that's okay then!" Luffy announced. "I thought Sanji forgot the meat!"

"Here are drinks for the lovely Nami-swan and Robin-chan," Sanji said, putting two tall glasses in front of them.

"Thank you, Sanji-kun," Nami said.

"Thank you, it's delicious as always," said Robin after taking a sip.

A loud voice interrupted him as he was about to start complimenting Nami and Robin.

"Hey, cook. I want sake," Zoro announced, earning him a glare from Sanji.

"Get it yourself."

"You locked the liquor cabinet."

"Well maybe you shouldn't have any then."

"It's not like it's breakfast."

"You drank some with breakfast."

"But it's not breakfast now."

"Idiot swordsman."

"Pervert cook."

"Marimo."

"Swirly eyebrow."

Sanji gave up and walked over to the cabinet and handed Zoro a bottle.

"Happy now?"

"Very."

"Would either of you like anything else?" Sanji asked Nami and Robin as he walked toward them.

"No, thank you," came both of their replies.

"Just tell me if you need anything at all."

Sanji reached over and whacked Luffy's arm, which had stretched across the table to grab someone else's food.

The table was filled with noise. Usopp was telling Luffy, Chopper and Brooke some tale and Franky was going off about some supah new invention to Robin. Zoro and Nami were arguing about how much the swordsman owed the navigator. There was practically a wall of sound around them, punctured with cries of "Hey! That's my food, Luffy!" and his "Owws" when he was caught.

When all of the food was gone, Sanji cleared the table and began to wash the mound of dishes. He ate bites of his own stew in between each. Yeah, it's not what he expected to be doing as a cook on a pirate ship, he thought to himself, but he wouldn't trade it for the world.


End file.
